JPH0484560A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the communication time by storing received picture information into a memory when storage power of a battery is a prescribed power or over and informing the state of normal reception to a sender side immediately to terminate the communication. CONSTITUTION:When storage power of a battery 3 is sufficiently large, picture information without any transmission error is received and stored in a buffer memory 1d, then reply of normal reception is immediately made to the sender side to terminate the communication. That is, when a picture to be recorded is still left, a voltage V of the battery 3 is checked and when the battery voltage V is not in excess of the voltage V1, a MCF signal representing the normal reception is sent to the sender side. When the picture information to be sent is one block only, a DCN signal is then sent from the sender side and the communication of the sender side and the receiver side is finished. Thus, the reliability of the equipment is improved and the communication time is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a facsimile machine that uses a battery as its operating power source.

[Prior Art] As one of the G3 facsimile communication systems, an error correction mode (hereinafter abbreviated as ECM) is known, which performs retransmission processing when a transmission error occurs during transmission of image information.

In ECM, the transmitting side stores a fixed amount of image information in a plurality of data frames, and transmits a data signal with the plurality of frames as one block.

The receiving side receives the data signal and temporarily stores the image information extracted from each frame in a buffer memory. Then, each data frame is checked for transmission errors, and if there is a transmission error, the error frame number is notified to the transmitting side. The transmitting side retransmits the image information of the notified frame.

Generally, when the receiving side receives one block of image information,
Image recording is started sequentially from the image information of the first frame. If there is a transmission error in the image information of the frame to be recorded, recording is temporarily stopped, and after correct image information is received by retransmission, image recording is resumed from that frame.

Therefore, for example, if there is a transmission error in a frame near the beginning of one block, most of the image information from that frame onward will be recorded as an image after receiving the retransmitted image information. In this case, since the recording time of the received image is longer than the transmission time of the retransmission image information, the image recording operation is sequentially executed after the retransmission operation is completed.

As transmission control methods on the receiving side in this case, a memory guarantee method and a copy guarantee method are known.

In the memory guarantee method, when retransmission image information without transmission errors is received, the sending side is notified that the information has been successfully received. In addition, the copy guarantee method notifies the user that the image information has been received normally when image information without transmission errors is received and all of the image information has been recorded.

In the case of the above-mentioned memory guarantee method, when the data signal of the final block is correctly received, the communication is immediately terminated, and the remaining images can be recorded thereafter, so that the communication time can be shortened.

By the way, some portable facsimile machines and the like use batteries as an operating power source. When such a facsimile device records an image after the end of communication as described above, the stored power of the battery may run out during the recording. In this case, as the stored power decreases, the density of the image recorded by the thermal head becomes thinner, and eventually the recording operation becomes impossible and image recording is interrupted in the middle of the received image. When the stored power of the battery runs out in this manner, the image information stored in the buffer memory also disappears.

Various methods have been known to alert an operator when the image information stored in memory is lost due to a power outage. This allows the receiving operator to notice the occurrence of an abnormality.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above case, a response of normal reception is sent to the sending facsimile machine during communication.

Therefore, even though the transmitted image is not actually recorded and output correctly on the receiving side, the facsimile machine on the sending side will display that the transmission result is normal.

As described above, in the past, there was a problem in that the reliability of the device was low because the transmission result may not be displayed correctly.

On the other hand, in order to solve this problem, it is conceivable that the copy guarantee method notifies the sending side of normal reception after image recording is completed.

However, in this case, the communication line with the sending side cannot be disconnected until the image recording is completed, resulting in a problem that the communication time becomes long.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile device that can improve the reliability of the device and shorten communication time by solving the above problems.

[Means for Solving the Problems] To this end, the present invention detects the amount of power stored in the battery, and when the amount of stored power exceeds a certain amount, the received image information is stored in a memory. Immediately, the sending side is notified of normal reception and the communication is terminated, and then the image information is recorded and output. However, if the accumulated power is less than a certain value, the received image information is output while the line is connected to the sending side. The device is characterized in that when it can record and output normally to the end without becoming inoperable due to a decrease in the amount of stored power, it notifies the transmitting side of normal reception and terminates the communication.

[Operation] If the amount of power stored in the battery is sufficiently large, communication is immediately terminated after receiving predetermined image information, so that communication time can be shortened. Furthermore, when the amount of accumulated power decreases, a response of normal reception is made only when the received image can be recorded to the end, so that the transmitting side can correctly determine and display the recording state of the receiving side. This improves the reliability of the device.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a facsimile machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a main body circuit 1 is supplied with operating power of various voltages from a power supply circuit 2, and the power supply circuit 2 is supplied with power from a battery 3.

In the main circuit 1, a scanner 1a reads an original image and extracts image information, and a plotter 1b records an image on heat-sensitive recording paper using a thermal head.

The encoding/decoding unit 1c compresses image information to be transmitted by encoding it, and decodes received image information to reproduce the original image information. The buffer memory 1d is
It is used to temporarily store one block of image information received by ECM. The modem 1e modulates and demodulates image information and transmits the same, and also transmits various procedure signals for transmission control. The network control device 1f is connected to a telephone line and performs predetermined line control when making and receiving calls.

The operation display section 1g includes a display, operation keys, etc., and displays the operating status of the device, and is used by the operator to perform various operations. The voltage detection circuit 1h detects the voltage of the battery 3. The system control section 11 is a microcomputer that controls each of the above sections. and,
The signal bus 1j is a signal line for exchanging various control signals and data between the above-mentioned units.

With the above configuration, the facsimile machine of this embodiment has an ECM
Image transmission is performed using Next, we will focus on the receiving side and explain its operation.

When the receiving facsimile machine receives a call, it connects to the line and executes the transmission control procedure before the message is sent, as shown in FIG. 2 (process 101).

FIG. 3(a) shows this control procedure, in which the receiving side first sends out a CED signal and a DIS signal. On the other hand, a DC5 signal and a modem I/laning signal such as a TCP signal are transmitted from the transmitting side. Here, predetermined modem training is executed, and if the mochi 11 training is successful, a CFR signal is sent out.

As a result, one block of data signals containing image information is transmitted from the sending facsimile machine. This data signal is, for example, 256 pies in 256 frames.
This is data of a known format 1- in which image information is set.

The receiving side receives the data signal, sequentially takes out the image information of each frame, and stores it in a buffer memory. Also,
A transmission error is checked, and if there is no error, the image information of each frame is read out sequentially, and in parallel with the above receiving operation, images are recorded sequentially as shown in FIG. 3(b) (Process 1
02).

By the way, if there is a transmission error in a specific frame F of the received data signal, as shown in FIG. 4A, image recording is temporarily stopped before the error frame.

From the transmitting side, after one block of data signal, PP5-
An EOP signal is sent.

After starting the above-mentioned receiving operation, the receiving side receives its PP5-EO.
The P signal is monitored (N loop of process 103), and when the PP5-EOP signal is received (Y of process 103)
, determine the transmission error check result (process 104)
.

Then, if there is an error frame (V in process 104)
), and sends out a PPR signal indicating the number of the error frame (process 105). As a result, the image information of the error frame is retransmitted from the transmitting side, and then the PPs/EOP signal is transmitted.

The receiving side receives the image information and resumes image recording if there is no transmission error. Next, the PP5-EOP signal is received (Y in process 1.03), and if there is no error frame (N in process 104), it is determined whether recording of all images has been completed (process 106).

By the way, the voltage of the battery 3 decreases as the amount of stored power decreases. When the battery voltage drops,
As the density of the recorded image becomes thinner, the recording operation eventually becomes impossible. In this embodiment, the battery voltage ■1 when there is a risk of not being able to record one page of images due to a drop in stored power, and the battery voltage v2 when the voltage decreases further and image recording becomes impossible are set in advance. It is set in the control program.

As a result of the above determination, if there are still images to be recorded (Y in process 106), the facsimile apparatus checks the voltage V of the battery 3 (process 107). Here, if the battery voltage V exceeds the above voltage V1 (processing 1
07 Y), MCF indicating normal reception to the sending side
A signal is sent (process 108).

Assuming that only one block of image information is to be transmitted, the transmitting side then transmits a DCN signal, as shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b). As a result, the transmitting side and the receiving side each end their communication operations.

After the communication ends, the receiving side continues to sequentially record the received image information. In this case, the battery voltage V is the constant voltage Vl
, it is possible to reliably record images until the end.

Next, suppose that, for example, while the retransmitted image information is being received and recorded, the battery voltage ■ falls below the voltage v1, as shown in FIG. 4(C). In this case (processing 107
(N), and further compares the battery voltage V with the voltage V2 (process 1.09).

Here, if the battery voltage ■ exceeds the constant voltage v2 (Y in process 109), it is checked whether the RNR signal has been sent (process 110). When it is not being sent as in the present case (N in process 110), the process shown in FIG.
), the RNR signal is sent (processing 111).
, returns to the determination of the presence or absence of a recorded image (proceed to process 106).

The RNR signal notifies the transmitting side that a response to the reception result is pending. When the transmitting side receives the RNR signal, it sends out an RR double signal inquiring about the reception result again.

When the receiving side sends an RNR signal (■ in process 110)
, RR double signal monitoring process 112), if the RR double signal is not received (N in process 112), the above determination operation is repeated (proceed to process 106), while when the RR double signal is received (process 1
12 Y), retransmit the RNI'i signal (proceed to process 11).

When image recording is completed in this way (N of process 106)
), sends the MCF signal (process 108), and ends the communication.

Next, during the image recording, as shown in FIG. 5(c).

Assume that the battery voltage V has decreased below a constant voltage v2.

In this case (N in process 109), as shown in (a) and (b) of the figure, image recording is stopped (process) 13),
A PIN signal indicating reception failure is sent to the sending side (process 114), and all operations are stopped.

As shown in ``2'' below, in this embodiment, if the accumulated power of the battery 3 is sufficiently large, when image information without transmission errors is received and stored in the buffer memo d, the sending side is immediately notified of normal reception. Since the communication is terminated after receiving the response, the communication time can be shortened.

Additionally, if the amount of stored power in battery 3 decreases,
After image information is received, image recording is performed while the communication line is maintained, and when the image can be recorded to the end, it responds as normal reception, but when it becomes unable to record due to a power drop, it responds as reception failure. I have to.

The sending facsimile machine displays the reception result on the receiving side using various known display methods in accordance with the response from the receiving side. This eliminates the conventional erroneous display of a normal end even though image recording has been interrupted on the receiving side, and improves the reliability of the apparatus.

Further, when the battery voltage drops to voltage v2, all operations are stopped, so that the image information stored in the buffer memo 1/d can be held and over-discharge of the battery 3 can be prevented.

Normally, when a rechargeable battery is over-discharged, its characteristics deteriorate. Therefore, when the battery 3 is of a rechargeable type, it is possible to prevent the battery 3 from becoming labor intensive.

Furthermore, after charging, it becomes possible to record the image information stored in the buffer memory 1d.

In the above embodiment, the P-N signal is sent when the battery voltage V drops below the constant voltage V2, but the signal may not be sent at this time. If no signal is sent, the transmitting side can determine that there is an abnormality due to the lack of a response from the receiving side.

Further, although the voltage V1 is set to a battery voltage that may cause the image recording to be limited to one page, it goes without saying that it may be set to one block or several pages of image information.

Further, although the explanation has been given using a facsimile device that transmits image information using ECM as an example, the present invention is not limited to ECM, but can be similarly applied to a facsimile device that stores received image information in a memory and then records it. can.

As described in "Effects of the Invention" 2, according to the present invention, when the amount of accumulated power in the battery exceeds a certain value, the received image information is stored in the memory and then the transmitting side is immediately notified of normal reception. This reduces the communication time, but if the accumulated power is less than a certain value, the received image information is recorded and output while the line is connected, and the communication continues normally until the end. Since the sending side is notified of normal reception only when recording is output, the sending side can correctly determine and display the recording status on the receiving side, improving the reliability of the device. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a facsimile device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an operational flowchart of the receiving facsimile device I~, and FIG. 3 is the operation of the receiving facsimile device when the battery voltage is high. Time chart 1 shows an example, Figure 4 shows an example of the operation when the battery voltage drops slightly, and Figure 5 shows the operation when the battery voltage drops to the point where recording is no longer possible. It is a time chart showing an example. 1...Main circuit, 1a...Scanner, 1b...Plotter, IC...Encoding/decoding unit, 1d/Buffer memory, 1c modem, 1f...Network control device, 1g...Operation display unit , ])] Voltage detection circuit, 1j...System control unit, 2...Power supply circuit, 3...Battery

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a facsimile machine that uses a battery as its operating power source, temporarily stores received image information in memory, and terminates communication after notifying the sending side of the reception result.
Remaining power amount detection means for detecting the amount of stored power of the battery;
If the accumulated power amount is above a certain value, the memory guarantee type communication termination means immediately stores the received image information in the memory and then notifies the sending side of normal reception and terminates the communication. Also, a post-communication recording means for reading and recording image information from the memory, and a communication recording means for recording and outputting the received image information while remaining connected to the transmitting side when the accumulated power amount is less than a certain value. If the communication recording means normally records and outputs the image information to the end without becoming inoperable due to the decrease in the stored power amount,
1. A facsimile apparatus comprising: copy guarantee type communication termination means for notifying a sending side of normal reception and terminating communication. (2) Operation aborting means for notifying the transmitting side of a reception abnormality and aborting all operations when the accumulated electric power drops to a specified value lower than the certain value while the communication recording means is in operation. 2. The facsimile machine according to claim 1, further comprising: